Boat Shoe

          Boat Shoes serve a purpose…you wear them on boats! Some people call them deck shoes, some people call the topsiders, and other folks just wear them when they don’t know what else to put on their feet. Boat shoe also known as deck shoes or topsiders, are typically canvas or leather with rubber soles designed for use on a boat. A siping pattern is cut into the soles to provide grip on a wet deck; the leather construction, along with application of oil, is designed to repel water.

Simple Timberland Boat Shoe

          Boat shoes are confusing if you don’t realize where all these names come from. Deck shoe refers to wearing your shoes on the deck of your boat. Topsiders make the reference “I’m heading top-side!” – The confusion comes from the fact that they’re all the same thing.This provides further confusion because Sperry’s popular line of boat shoes is trademarked “The Topsider.” Old-schoolers may refer to all boat shoes as “topsiders” but they may not necessarily want Sperry’s.

Modern style boat shoe (Converse Jack Purcell Boat Shoe)